I feel as if net neutrality should be deleted because it is getting very out of control!   If everything was going fine and people weren't saying mean things to each other we would be able to keep ne neutrality and live a very healthy fun and free type of life .  I feel as if over the years we've had more and more problems with net neutrality because the world out here is just getting worse and worse.  Over time I feel as if we'll be able to conquer net neutrality and it will be gone and out of sight so we won't have to worry about these types of things anymore.  One of my friends used to say a lot of mean things on the internet to people just to get a reaction out of them.  I always thought it was horrible but I never said anything because I didn't want her to do the same thing to me.  She was kind of like a friend to me but she was the type of person that I thought would turn on me if I did anything that she didn't like.  That's why I dropped her and she's not my friend anymore. I learned from her mistakes that you shouldn't be rude to people and say things that will hurt peoples feelings because in the end you could hurt their feelings or worse risk their life. You should never say anything to someone that can affect them in a bad and horrible way.  If you don't want it done to you then what makes you think that other people want it done to them .  That's one of the mottos I live by because I always feel as if I need multiple reminders of what I should and shouldn't be doing.

The Internet

The Internet is a rapidly growing web of information that more and more people are using. The Internet's rise has given voice to millions and millions of people. But you can communicate with millions at the push of a button on the internet. Anonymous websites like Reddit allow people to voice their opinions with little fear of their true identities being revealed. This is seen as a blessing more many and a curse for others. For those unfamiliar with the internet and even those who are, anonymity is a scary and unsettling thought. Having the ability to be anonymous online would protect the identity of the trolls who take advantage of the internet.The idea that millions of people can have can talk unfiltered without any accountability is both astounding and frightening.The lines between good and bad are blurred on anonymous websites, which makes investigations for crimes online difficult. Courts are finding it harder and harder to deal with cases against anonymous users. So my question is, what are the pros and cons of anonymous websites and how can the courts deal with crimes that are committed on them?

Remove Anonymity???

I believe we are entering a world where people have misused the freedom the Internet provides. We are able to surf and explore the Internet without having to expose our real identity, however, it seems that this luxury has been misused and has enabled trolls to harass and assault innocent victims. Sadly this issue is still apparent here in 2017, a culture of trolling has definitely emerged in the recent years, to the point where we are accustomed to it. We allowed online trolling to go and flourish by not effectively presenting a resolution we indirectly allowed it grow. I believe the act of dehumanizing others while being apparent as long as we continue to view and hurt unfavorable towards other and as a collective society we rise above the hate and actually reach a solution. It seems like anonymity should be provoked or readdressed because it seems to have to be misused in order to begin a campaign of online attacks that could cause immense physiological harm which may lead to someone ending their life too soon. For the sake of preventing the hatred online, we may need to revoke anonymity for all for a while in order to decrease "hate speech". By holding users to their identity then we may prevent and have online trolls think twice before posting a comment that was intended to hurt the feelings of others. - Bryan Tovar

Is Getting Rid of Net Neutrality Really In Our Best Interest?

The internet serve us in so many ways. Getting rid of net neutrality will slow down anything that requires the internet-- everything! Despite the many disadvantages it may have, it could potentially lead to better opportunities for us to disconnect and not be so dependent of technology. The idea is that companies will now start charging for using their programs(i.e. apps, websites). In a way, I think that this could really improve the way we socialize, given that our generation doesn't really do too much of that. That is assuming that people won't want to pay extra for all these resources. On the downside, however, I feel like those who depend solely on the internet for specific things might have no other choice but to pay the prices. For example, some people don't have the privilege to live together and might depend on FaceTime, Skype, and other internet programs to communicate, but that's not even the worst part. Education has also become extremely dependent on the internet. For example, I can't remember a day where I don't utilize the internet for an activity or assignment. Not to mention THIS BLOG!!! To be completely honest, I don't think that I would want to pay any money just to post this blog. Lastly, Ive come to know that college is basically completely dependent on the internet. So good luck to us right!

Is It Possible to Control The Number of Accounts A Person Can Make?

Is it possible to get rid of trolling when everyone is allowed to make as many accounts as they want for any social media account or online website. For example trolls usually have multiple accounts they use to practice there negative online activities, but people who do not practice trolling also have multiple accounts for certain things, like if you forget a password or other information some people tend to just make a new account. I recently realized that I have multiple email accounts for different things, and that was so surprising to me because having different email accounts is something that a troll would also have; although, I use my three different email accounts for online shopping, school related work, college applications, and not trolling. It made me think about if websites and social media site put restrictions on how many accounts a person could use it would not only affect trolls, but it would also affect regular people who use those sites for normal activities. Do you think that social media websites and online websites should restrict people from making multiple accounts to prevent the amount of online trolling and crime? Should everyone have to suffer from not being able to make multiple accounts to reduce trolling or should we countinue to allow people to make multiple accounts knowing that trolls take advantage of it?

-Tiara Taylor

Why Anonymity?

Anonymity is such a weird word to me, and the concept of anonymity is rather versatile. The reasons as to why most people are anonymous online, might give others a clear view why harassment and such things occur online. Even though most people don't know why or how it occurs, it still does. Anyone can be anonymous, by making a fake profile or even pretending to be someone they are not. People all over the world use the internet to troll others because they understand that its through a screen, and that most of the time you won't even know the other person. But I think to myself and ask why would you want to be cruel to others by shaming or harassing them? I personally don't understand, but I hope those who are cyber bullying others realize the harm that they may be bringing to others. I think online websites should intervene when cyber bullying is taking place, or else it will continue o be a problem. Which I understand might be hard to obtain all at once, but at least something something can be done to help control it.

Sticks and Stones

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. This childhood rhyme is meant to teach children that they shouldn't let words hurt them. Even though words do hurt, and can feel as though someone is throwing sticks and stones at them, don't let the trolling leave you with lasting pain. As we grow up it seems that some people have forgotten that words have the power to influence a person's thoughts and can change the way they feel about themselves. When trolls post online I assume they feel brave, knowing that they are anonymous. Although there are positives to anonymity, there is also major negatives for instance, trolling. The fact that the victim doesn't know who their tormentor is can leave them wondering if it's someone they know. Words have a positive or negative impact on a person's life, leaving a long term effect on how they feel about themselves as well as how they treat others. For example, when a troll calls their target stupid this can leave them feeling as though they are not good enough. Preventing them from accomplishing their goals because their self-esteem may have lowered. However, when you take the time out of your day to compliment someone your words have the power to make someones day, or even change the way they view themselves. When we are online we must think of others feelings, because you never know what a person maybe going through. We must remember that "what we say affects the world we live in" (Lindy West).

Can Trolling be at a minimum?

 As we all know trolling can't be contained. There is just to much people wanting say what they want to say online that can be offensive to some but don't care. So what should we do? I believe again that we should just ignore the trolls and if they come back just give them a taste of their own medicine. The trolls need to know who there messing with. Being anonymous online does have its perks, but overall it allows trolls to get under peoples skin without thinking about how they are hurting others. I think not being anonymous online allows people to less likely get trolled. For one, people are shown, which make them less likely to troll when you know who the are. Trolls get away with how rude they talk about others when there hidden. Maybe this can be one way to have less trolls online. Let me know on the comment section below.

The Advantage and Disadvantage of Online Anonymity

As the online community grows, so does the world of anonymity.  Having anonymity does come with it's benefits, but mostly comes with horrible disadvantages.  One benefit of online anonymity is the fact that you are able to speak what you think on a certain subject with anyone knowing who you are and without judgement.  Which is a good thing or was a good thing because you wouldn't be judged for it.  Now that I see it and how it's becoming more than just a safe way to say what you think,  people tend to abuse that right.  Anonymity is growing and growing and we can't stop it.  People tend to take that opportunity of going anonymous for different reasons such as hate, cyber bullying, and just putting people down, which is the sad thing about social media.  After reading Lindy West's story, I can't believe people would say those mean things about her, even if it is for show.  At the end of her article, she finally confronts her "troll" and this troll finally speaks up and says, "Hey Lindy, I don’t know why or even when I started trolling you. It wasn’t because of your stance on rape jokes. I don’t find them funny either. I think my anger towards you stems from your happiness with your own being. It offended me because it served to highlight my unhappiness with my own self."  Now, if one troll feels this way at the end, then why do it at all?  What is the point in putting someone else's feelings down, just to lift yourself up somehow?  This is my stance on online anonymity and it sucks to see how this affects many lives, especially the younger generation.  What do you think?

Trollmania

Trying to figure out what a troll wants is a mystery. What do they want? Why are the doing this? Its especially scary when there's anonymous trolls coming after you. The troll said he knows where you live? Is the victim supposed to take these threats seriously or just ignore it. Some would say to just ignore it, but how do you ignore a threat that could possibly change your life. Some trolls remarks aren't that serious, they call someone ugly, tell them their face looks weird, but the internet should be used as a tool and not a weapon. Websites can argue and say that they have things that protect their users, but that little report button almost never works. I've reported stuff and the post doesn't go down one hundred percent of the time. So where is someone supposed to go if the website doesn't do anything about threatening, or harmless comments? The law? Think again because they don't care. Something needs to be done about trolls but its hard to tell where to start, because there is so many of them everywhere. Its sad to say that we live in a place where there is so much ignorance. An account will be deleted if it threatened the president or even challeged his authority but it wot go down if the troll did that to anyone else. There should be protectioon for everyone.

Less Internet Access, Less Trolls?

Would trolling be relevant in a few months when the internet would be limited by the FCC? Net neutrality gives us the freedom to search whatever we want without any restrictions. What would the consequences of repealing net neutrality do to the trolls roaming the internet? Would there be less? I do not know, but I hope it does reduce the amount of trolls. Now that people have to pay for certain things about using the internet like social media and web searches, it should reduce the amount of people using the internet. That is if people would not like to pay for these new services then there would be less people using it. Hopefully reducing the amount of trolls there are. Though this act is only limited to the United States, so maybe it only directly affects the websites and forms of social media popular in the United States.

Trolling can be significantly reduced with this new phase of the internet; however, there are still many downsides to repealing net neutrality. The everyday tool that almost everyone uses will be restricted, so it will make a huge difference on how we utilize our time on the web. It will probably affect students who use the internet for research and help when the teacher is not present. It will affect communications with each other. It will just affect our whole lives. The internet should stay the way it is right now without any charges, but less abusive comments left by trolls.

Anonymity Isn't The Problem

As I've come to read about these blog posts and read more articles, it seems that being anonymous is not the main problem about cyber harassment. Of course, it still hurts to receive such harsh statements from someone you don't know or who won't reveal their name. Even with their name on their profile, a troll can still make their opinion heard and receive no consequences. It takes more than the simple revelation of a person's name to make the Internet safer from these trolls. Another part of the anonymity thing is having a person's credentials be a part of their profile and the requirements to post a comment. As someone who is fairly familiar with the way things are online, a lot of trolls tend to be smart people. You could easily fake these credentials and get through that system and continue to get away with things. What it comes down to is not people being anonymous, it's about people choosing to do these things. It's their choice to do these hurtful things to others, so there's no real way to prevent these from still happening.

Can Trolling Really Be Rid of?

We have read all these stories and seen examples of how trolling has come to effect people, but ignoring or pretending the trolls aren't there doesn't seem like enough to get rid of the problem. Sure, the anonymity behind trolling only makes it more easier for it to be done, but getting rid of anonymity doesn't exactly help either. People wouldn't be obligated to reveal their identities all the time as most would think if we got rid of anonymity because they would use fake names to post comments, articles, or papers expressing hate to show opposition towards something. One example of this is YouTube because YouTube gives people the option to use their own names or use a username for their accounts and we still see arguments started between people in comment sections of videos regardless of the accounts being used. In other cases, banning or blocking people, as many social media companies have proposed, doesn't work because people just make new accounts to continue doing the same trolling acts they always do. No matter the situation, trolls seem like they'll always find a way to harass people because of differing opinions or just for the sake of sending mean messages, so how can the problem be solved exactly? With net neutrality being recently ruled out, perhaps trolls will be limited to the websites their internet providers give them access to. Overall, tell me what you think some solutions to trolling there might me besides the ones that have been thought of, if there are any.

Anonymous Users

I understand how anonymity can be an amazing thing but I can't help and see the negatives of it. When anonymous users are online they tend to not take responsibility for what they are saying. This creates a lack of responsibility on the internet. When a person has no identity online they really have the freedom to say whatever they want. They have no personal identity so there are no consequences for them. When people don't take responsibility it creates a messy kind of environment. It creates an environment that I personally don't want to be apart of. Platforms where trolls harras freely is a look into the worst of our society. No one is acting civil. Users are just freely harassing people and saying hurtful things that would never be acceptable in a face to face conversation. There's something about the internet that seems to bring out the worst in people. I can never imagine saying the things that some trolls say to another person. That is why I think anonymity should be policed. Yes, it may be an important part of our democratic values but there needs to be some regulation. If an anonymous user is using anonymity to harm, their profile should be shut down immediately. There should be zero tolerance for trolling. Websites like twitter should take the initiative to fight against trolling in their sites. Also sites should offer protection and an outlet for the victim. Often times when someone is being harassed they are the ones who have to leave the site, and I think that is completely backwards.
-Emily Guidas

Trolling Anonymity

Anonymity has led to trolling because they're given so much power due to them hiding their identity through a screen and they get to say whatever they want because of that. Their power is never ending because trolling accounts are made every single second of the day which means they have the upper hand over social media. They are also being fed everyday by the people who respond to their idiotic comments via internet. These comments are traps that trollers setup  to piss people off and to get into their emotions. Once they get into your emotions it's as if they put a leash over your neck and begin walk you like a dog. They don't stop because the trollers don't know the meaning of the word stop. If you ever get in an argument with a troller it's never over because of the fact that trolling has a little small community, which means other trollers will see the comments and begin on attacking you. As social media grows we must become immune to whatever the anonymous people throw at us. It sounds ridiculous because they probably will keep doing it. We run into them everyday so as a community we must ignore them because I believe if we can do that we will see less and less trolls roaming the internet.

Tony [ twitter: szn_tony IG: Tonyy.szn]

Ghost Mode

The repeal of net-neutrality was the dumbest decision in congress. The fact that we have to now pay to just go on the internet and search something up, not mention paying to just go on social media as well. Republicans think that this is going to help the economy but it’s really going to effect the American citizens. I am very disappointed that this repeal even passed when more than 1 million citizens protested to keep net neutrality. I thought our elected leaders were supposed to speak for us  and lead us but instead they're hypocrites because most of America did not want this bill to be overturned. They're going against what the majority wanted. Even Washington D.C. is taking stand to keep free internet for the online community in that state. However, if this were to be enforced I would basically go ghost. No more snapchat, twitter, Instagram, youtube, Netflix and google. You will most likely see me at a library and/or reading the encyclopedia. Books will probably have a comeback now. And I will be using iMessage as my snapchat. 
- Maritza Rodriguez

Behind the Computer Screen

After reading Kayla's blog I've realized that the sucky thing about trolling, is the fact that not only is the person being targeted hurt but the person on the screen is hurting too. As we read about Lindy West, all I could thing about is how the man who created the account in her dad's name would talk about how she was this and she was that. But it was really him that was hurting, not her. She had gotten to the point in her life where you could say anything rude and vulgar and crude to her and she could brush it off her shoulder like it was nothing. The man on the other side was the one who felt unloved, worthless, and a multitude of other depressing adjectives. He used his pain to try and create more pain for someone else. That's really the point of most people trolling. It's seems like to me that because I'm sad, no one else deserves to be happy right now. I'm going to throw myself a pity party and just sit here and feel bad for myself. As my coach says "Stop throwing yourself a pity party and get back in the game." You don't have to just stop. Some people need to realize that you just got to get over it and try something else. Get your life together. Unless it's something so bad that it'd would take you a long time then you take the time you need. Don't just use your pain to inflict pain onto others. People have to take care of themselves first.  -Madi 

The repeal of Net Neutrality

Twitter is the only social media account that I have where people were talking about net neutrality, mostly teenagers. At first when I had seen people talk about it I was confused and then the next day my government teacher talked about it to the class and I was able to figure out what was going on. On twitter people were saying we were going to have to start paying all this money just to use apps like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. Reading that shocked me because it's like we've been using all of these apps for free and now they want to charge us? But then I started reading more information about it on CNN or other news websites and what I found out was that these twitter accounts were over exaggerating the prices of what we'd have to pay when net neutrality is no longer a go. Most likely these people were just trying to get retweets or followers but also it is a big deal so they could also be getting people to rally against it, which they should. I also read that if it for sure happens the providers for certain internet services will be able to slow down or fasten what you use and possibly charge you whatever amount they'd like. Although, I am still confused about this whole thing but at the same time I want to know what our world would turn out to be like if this happens?

-Juliet Rose Chacon

What Anonymity Does and Doesn't Do

Anonymity is not the reason online trolls can achieve success. They are enabled by the physical disconnect between them and their targets. When people harassed Lindy West on Twitter, many of those people use their real names as their Twitter handle. They can choose to give up anonymity, and will receive the same shielding from social consequences because they are not physically talking to anyone. The only way to stop the trolling is to censor out the bad stuff. The First Amendment only protects speech from government action, and it only applies in the United States. Twitter sets its own terms of use for its platform and has the option to allow or disallow whatever they want. Whether it is right or wrong for Twitter to police speech on its platform is another debate, but the point I am trying to make is that the fact that people are anonymous on the internet does not cause online trolling and harassment and that forcing people to use their real names to “remove anonymity” is not an effective solution.

Can We Fix It? : Online Anonymity

Since the internet has been created, many issues have taken place dealing with online anonymity. I am all for having the right to remain anonymous on the internet to a certain extent. That extent is that I do not support trolls taking advantage of their anonymity in order to hurt other people. The sad part is the fact that some trolls actually know what they are doing online to hurt other people because some of those trolls were once the victims of being trolled. As the human race, we need to stop fighting fire with fire towards each other. Why would you harass or troll another person when you did not like being harassed or trolled yourself? In my opinion, people are very cruel and we do things sometimes because we think we are being activist or heroes standing up to people who have done things that they may be shunned from society for. In all honesty, nobody deserves to be harassed. Not even people like Stacey Dash, Donald Trump, or Monica Lewinsky. These are three out of the may people that continue to receive hate especially with the influence of social media. I am not a big fan of Donald Trump, but that doesn't mean that I dehumanize him by constantly throwing insults at him via social media explaining how much I dislike him. I do not feel like there will be a day where trolling does not exist because many people continue to hold grudges and seek revenge and or target complete strangers just for the fun of it solely for the reason that they were just "bored". Something I feel that can be possible is regulating online anonymity and decreasing the amount of harassment and trolling that occurs. As a human being, we just need to treat each other better. We also need to put ourselves in others' shoes and make the effort to understand one another. Do you guys think there's hope for a better and safer online community? Will trolls always exist?

Net Neutrality? Brazy

So can someone please clear up this Net Neutrality deal? I have heard a lot about it and know some of the basics about it. But what happens when this thing goes into effect? What happens to all social media and the things that fall into that category? I heard that there would be certain packages to buy that include different categories of various social medias. Like one package would be Twitter, Yahoo, Myspace and a few others. How do you think this would be for us? Do you agree with the package idea? Personally, I think it's dumb because you're gonna be paying for programs that you don't even use. Like I'm gonna spend money on programs that have been out of service for years like Myspace. I guess that means everyone gotta hop on the Myspace wave again. This whole Net Neutrality thing is pointless and sounds like the only benefit from it is for the people who are making money off of it. But foreal can someone help with explaining the Net Neutrality to me because I don't understand it. THANKS!

Glass Half Full

   

As we learn more about trolls the ways they behave online thanks to the anonymity that many sites allow, people become desperate to stop these attacks. One of the solutions that is so often spoken about is simply getting rid of anonymity all together. However, this really wouldn’t be ideal for two main reasons. One being that there will be trolls trying to harass people regardless of their online identity because they’re simply apathetic about what people may think of them. (Or at least pretend to be.) The second reason is that anonymity is in fact a very large benefit to online communities when you disregard the trolls. Anonymity lets anybody speak their mind about important or informative topics that they feel people should be aware of without having to deal with any possible backlash from people who may disagree or may just feel like “trolling” the person. Not completely at least, considering the fact that trolls won’t be able to continue harassment directly to the person and follow them with is it if they’re anonymous. It’s ironic that the thing that’s causing most of the problem is benefiting the people that are trying to avoid the problem.

Will trolls still stop if anonymity rights away taken away?

Anonymity is given to us in online situations for personal reason like hiding identity for example. By staying anonymous in a chat room or scrolling through social media anonymity has now recently been twisted and used for others cruel enjoyment of causing peoples misery in online communities. These sadist take full enjoyment in trolling the online world and making it hard for individuals to cope with. Many people who speak on this current situation of cyberbullying related to trolling, want to take action but how can we effectively take action?  We have ideas such as taking away anonymity rights but will that truly stop trolls from trolling individuals?

Anonymous Trolls

The Internet has been a wonderful tool that helps people connect, makes studying easier, and has revolutionized our lives. However, along with its advantages comes some faults. "Trolling" is a frankly strange word for cyberbullying, and seems more innocent. Sometimes I'll see something LGBTQ or feminist on my explore page on Instagram and the caption will say that the comments are turned off because people kept fighting. Why do they have to say anything on a post that isn't theirs? just block and keep scrolling if it bothers them that much. If we limited anonymity then this type of harassment would occur much less. More often then not, it is used to mask the attackers and silence the attacked. Sending messages, and perhaps even commenting should not allow users to be anonymous. If they feel the need to say something then face the consequences and stand behind what you say. We would be weakening the shield the trolls have surrounded themselves in. The ignoring tactic hasn't been working, so maybe its time to stand up for ourselves.

Behind the scenes of Internet trolling

After reading over Lindy West article, I’ve realized how cruel internet trolls are and how the hurtful comments can affect someone emotionally. It amazes me how far someone would go to hurt others feelings. I’ve heard and witness online trolling but never actually experienced it myself. The most common place I’ve personally seen trolling is on Instagram and Twitter. Trolls love to make fake accounts under innocuous username with barely any followers,posts, and no profile picture, commenting hateful things to the biggest celebrities. Some celebrities don’t entertain the trolls because they know it will gain them the attention that they are seeking. But every once in a while celebrities clap back and comment a classy remark against them. I don’t understand how dedicated trolls are making others lives miserable. Some will go as far as making multiple account if they were to be blocked or reported. It’s okay to have different emails that you use for different things. But it’s the way that you choose to use them. I have multiple emails but they all serve a different purpose. One is my personal email, the second is my school email, and recently I’ve made a third one that is more professional in which I’ll use for college or for emailing jobs. Going back to what I was saying just because you aren’t censored doesn’t mean that you can abuse the right of freedom of speech. That can only protect you from so much. There is a point where you’ve cross the line and now the law can step in a resolve to situation. What are your opinion on this topic! I would love to hear.
-Kayla Owens

We have defined internet trolling as unacceptable, and it has been a ctrillign has been a conversation of ours for some time now. Bringing awareness to trolling is very important. Before this lesson I don't believe I have ever recognized trolling for what it is. I always have known these people are not nice over the internet, and it seems like people get more cruel over the internet because they aren't emotionally connected to others behind the screen. Trolling has to be put to a stop, that will not happen if this conversation ends. More people need to become aware of the content of the situation, and trolls have to be put a fault for their wrongdoings.

Censorship online

     Censorship online is a touchy subject in the online community.  Advocates for censorship say that certain language such as hate speech should not be allowed online and there should be laws to prevent and punish perpetrators who do so.  Opponents to censorship online argue that their first amendment right to free speech should not be sacrificed because of a couple of bad apples who use their freedom online to post grotesque comments.  Personally, I don't think censorship should be allowed online. Although the intention is good with only limiting hateful speech, the FCC in control of what we can and cannot type will eventually grow into other issues.  For example, if they disagree with a perspective of an issue in politics, they could limit our contribution regarding that issue without our knowledge.
    Not everyone uses their free speech online with bad intention.  As a true democracy, speech should not be controlled.

Online Anonymity

Online anonymity is something that I feel would not be a good asset to the online community.  It can have its positives, but overall it has more negatives.  Having the abliity to be anonymous online would protect the identity of the trolls who take advantage of the internet.  Trolls are people who hide behind a computer screen, satisfied with how they hurt people, because they can’t physically see how it affects their targets.  Online anonymity would just protest their identities, and would protect them from the consequences that they deserve.  This is also similar to net neutrality.  People who are in favor of net neutrality believe that it will prevent trolls from attacking the internet, when in reality, it will just ruin the internet for the people who really need it.  Students who use the internet for studying will now have to pay to "study."  The internet has grown to become such an advantage in our lives: we use google to look up information, we use social media to keep in contact with friends and family, and so much more.  Making us pay to use the internet is wrong, since we have grown so accustomed to having it right at our fingertips whenever we need it.

Hope For Net Neutrality

    As of December 14, 2017, the FCC has repealed net neutrality and now people are mourning the loss of it. However, there is still hope that we can get it back. Those ways are by veto, supreme court, or by participating in the next elections.
     The most unlikely way we can get neutrality back is with president Trump vetoing the FCC's repeal. However, I don't this will ever happen since Trump is Republican and the repeal is supported by the Republican party since its more money in their pockets. I also believe that Trump has actually stated he won't veto the repeal so the chances of him repealing it are slim to none.
     As of now, everyone is hoping that the supreme court will strike down this law. This is the most likely scenario that people are supporting since they believe that the repeal is unconstitutional. When the FCC repealed net neutrality they repealed everything that stopped ISPs (Internet Service Providers) from gaining power. This includes laws on censorship. Therefore, many people think the courts will strike this down because this violates our first amendment of freedom of speech. If the court does strike it down we will get our neutrality back, until someone else will try to take it away again.
     If the supreme court fails to strike down the repeal I'm afraid that we must endure it and wait until the next congressional and presidential elections. With a democrat run executive and legislative branch, we could possibly bring net neutrality back. However, to do this we need everyone to participate in politics and voting.  These past elections more than 50% of people didn't participate in voting, as a result, we are in the situation we are currently in. In the next few years, I urge everyone to participate in voting. After all, you have a voice and it needs to be heard.

So my question to you guys is that are you hopeful that we can bring net neutrality back? Also, since most of you can vote in a year do you plan to vote in the next presidential and congressional election?

Net Neutrality

I am personally pissed off (sorry for the language Ms. Fletcher). The thing that I really don’t understand about this whole net neutrality thing is that nobody really thought about how much it effects every day life. From what I’ve been told about net neutrality, I’ve learned that it’s this, whoever is in charge can regulate our internet and how fast different things go. Also, that we are going to have to pay for everything we want to use, ranging from the internet, to Facebook, to Instagram, to twitter, and to Snapchat, along with so much more. The internet is what makes me so mad. How are people in school supposed to go home and do research for homework and papers? Is every student in America expected to go to the library and do everything there? That’s just unrealistic. This may sound a bit dramatic, but net neutrality could ruin everything that we have been used to for so long. We use the internet to research, to buy stuff, to talk to people, society in America literally revolves around the internet. I personally find out most of my information from I twitter and Snapchat. Everyone should have the equal opportunity to use the internet, if not, then it’s just not fair.  This country has been going down hill since last November, and it’s just getting worse. Thanks trump :-)

AF: Podcast >> "Turning Wikipedia into a Weapon Against Misogyny"

Here is a link to that PODCAST excerpt we listened to in class, just in case you want to hear it again.

Trolling

Currently, on the internet, the practice of trolling has been accepted in the online world. The masses online have noted that when surfing the web that it is necessary to be aware of these so-called trolls who seek attention by instigating a concern with the person at hand. I personally have not been personally dehumanized online by an anonymous source that caused great personal distress. However, I more than familiar with the ramifications of online harassment such as trolling. Trolling is apparent to anyone who voices their opinion on an issue deemed controversial. It seems as if voicing your opinion nowadays can cause an wanted wave of backlash. Trolling has seemed to evolve into a harsher act. Death threats and doxing have drastically increased in the previous years and the issue at hand has been brought more attention, however, the problem has not gone away.  I believe the true away to rid ourselves of this issue, is to not feed internet trolls, because just like a misbehaved student who acts out in class they both do it for attention and if you give them a single drop of attention then a whole dilemma may occur. However, just as the NYT article by Manjoo that we read in class, it seems to be necessary for a cultural revolution in the online world and how users interact. Due to the anonymity, no direct recourse can be given to those to do such cruel. I duly believe we that the worst in society are a reflection of how we act as a society because as the saying goes we are only as strong as our weakest link.

Trolling Needs To Stop

Before learning about it in school, I did not think of trolling as a negative action. I never really took the time to learn or understand the true definition of trolling. It seems that technology has brought many negative contributions to the world of media. There are a good amount of people online who are viewed as trolls who are not necessarily concerned with the feelings of others. Whether it is someone you may be close to or a complete stranger, people online like to find a target and take their shot. What causes a troll to bring all of this negative energy to the online community? I feel that it may be that the troll has some insecurities on their own so much to the point where they find themselves so unhappy that they want to spread unhappiness to others who they may feel deserve to be unhappy. What makes a person want to terrorize someone to the point where that person goes into a deep depression? Some trolls do not know the feeling when a bunch of notifications show up on your phone with negative comments. Some do not even know how it feels when your account is hacked with someone acting as if they are you. What about trolls who do know? These are the trolls who want people to feel the same pain they felt when they were once the victims of trolling on the internet. Why would one have the audacity to put someone through the same pain? In all honesty, we need to come together as the human race and continue to treat each other better. The internet has a strong influence on today’s society and we need to start making the web safer and welcoming to use.

Are Bergens and Internet Trolls the Same ?

When I first thought of a troll, I started to think of the animation movie Trolls. Which I know is the complete opposite and kind of irrelevant to an internet troll, but in the movie the bergens are the ones who only say that they will only find happiness unless they eat a troll. Which had me thinking about internet trolls and how they might be like the bergens, in a weird but kind of interesting way. Bergens are completely miserable and don’t live a very good life, until they eat a troll. Which is when they feel the most happiest and is about the only time that they feel happy. I feel as if internet trolls may be the same, because they are known for talking to others through the internet in a negative manner. So what if saying all these negative things to another person makes them feel a little bit better about themselves, because they never get to feel how much positivity can be spread on the internet since they just say mean things to others. I understand that all of this may sound silly but you don’t know what others are going through in life and why they decide to hide through an electronic device. Which is what happened with the bergens in the movie, they didn’t know they could ever be happy without eating a troll until the trolls helped one of them realize that they can be. Overall, my advice to others would be to ignore what others say and try to stay positive like the trolls in the movie.

Unfortunate Events of Trolling

In my point of view, trolling is hurtful, stupid, and immature.  It sad to see that there are actual people out there that would take the time out of their day to just harass people for no reason.  If I found myself in the situation where someone was trolling me, of course I'll be sad about it, but at the same time, it's not worth the energy and time of moping around about it.  I say that people should ignore it because obviously you are better that, and I know that it's such a cliche thing to say, but it's true.  Also, I don't think anyone can fix online trolling, which is also another sad thing because trolling is everywhere and it's hard to keep up with it.  After reading Lindy West's story, It just saddens me that there are actual people out there that would say these horrible names to her.  But, the most painful part about reading her story was the story about how people used her deceased father to make a fake twitter account and used it to say all these awful things about her.  I hope none of you ever go through this because it is truly heart breaking.  What I also liked was the fact that she fought back, not many people do that because they think that if by talking back to them, that they would give in and show themselves at their most vulnerable state, but that wasn't the case for Lindy.  I think what's also scary about all of this is that you don't know who is may be.  What would you do if you were being trolled? Fight back or stay quiet?

"Troll" is an Understatement

A lot of the discussions we have in class are really good and important for everyone to hear, especially the era that we are in. With almost every one of us on the internet in some way every single day, everyone is susceptible to experiencing a troll of their own at some point. Even though I do agree with the severity of the topic, I still cannot agree with calling these kinds of people "trolls". At least for me, trolling does not have the same meaning in my personal vocabulary than it does in the discussions in class. Trolling, to me, means someone that does provoke arguments between people, but not big issues or straight up cyber bullying. My kind of trolls are more annoying than they are hostile. Hearing these kinds of stories with these "trolls" is giving them to much credit for who they really are. Those kinds of people do not deserve to even be called trolls, they are way worse than that. My advice to anyone that is dealing with the really bad "trolls" on the internet is to immediately block them out of your life and on whatever platform they are harassing you on. Having the strength to ignore and disregard what trolls say to you is a very hard, but incredibly useful skill to have, and I hope everyone reading this has such strength to do so.

Trolls on the Internet

When I think of the word "troll" my mind immediately goes to a person that is trying to make a funny joke. But, during this unit I have come to realize that this word covers a lot more than some person being annoying. I have always been aware of cyberbullying on the internet, and have been taught from a young age that you should never deliberately put anyone down. It makes sense why trolls feel powerful online, they don't get to see the face of the person they are hurting. Since trolls can be anonymous they act brave, knowing that nobody knows their identity. There are many reasons why a person may feel the need to be mean, they could be miserable with their own life, and want others to be hurt as well, or it may be all for attention. I personally never had any experiences with a troll, I'm not on social media that often to begin with, but my advice would be to block anyone who is bugging you. I know that this solution isn't the most effective, because the hurt feelings are still there, however, it's a start. Personally if I had to deal with severe trolling that I know I can't brush off, I would just delete my account. I don't believe that going through that kind of harassment is worth taking my happiness away by keeping my account active. I don't understand why anyone, no matter how unhappy they are with themselves, could ever purposely make another human feel horrible.

Trolling

Don't let trolling affect you as a person. Trollers  have nothing better to do than to pick on somebody not there size. Also they have a screen to hide behind even when they know there rude.... which is bad. Mostly trolls have nothing better to do than to express what they feel without a filter. Most trollers like  to get under peoples skin so I believe that the best way to mess with a troll is to simply ignore. Don't respond, don't encourage their behavior just simply ignore. They want a reaction out of you. They want you to get angry, to cry, to be discouraged. So ignore them. On the other hand if they keep at it,  if they keep on messing with you then I suggest you give them a taste of there own medicine. Yeah it will be nasty but you somehow got to let them know that its not okay to mess with you...or anyone else. I personally believe its better to deal with someone up front. Its such a lame move anyway for someone to say all these cruel things about you online but not to your face. Any who, If someone's messing with you online ignore them, if they keep messing with you then you have to let them know that is not okay. Trolls out there have a story to. They feel like messing with someone will make them feel less insecure or less imitated. So you being the bigger person or standing up for yourself can possibly be an eye-opener for them to stop messing with you or anyone.

Trolls are ruining the internet

The internet and social media should be a fun place where people can express themselves and post whatever they want. However, internet trolls are ruining it for everyone. They constantly lurk on many social media platforms and leave hateful comments. Tons of people are harassed online daily by these people. Zelda Williams was a victim of these internet trolls. After her father, Robin Williams, committed suicide, many left hateful comments which led to her quitting social media altogether. This is a prime example of trolls ruining the internet. Personally, I have never come across one, and I hope I never do. I feel as though trolls are just looking for attention. They comment hateful or rude things just to get a reaction out of someone. Not to mention, they are cowards. I can guarantee you that these trolls could never say something so hateful to somebody in person. They hide behind a screen and make other people feel miserable. Not just trolls, but any type of bully has a lot of insecurities. They make themselves feel better by tearing down others. We can never stop trolls, but we can try to slow them down. If someone trolls you, ignore and block them. It is best to not give them the attention they are looking for. If you see a hateful comment, report it to the app. Trolls are taking the fun out of the internet and social media and we need to stand up to these hateful people.

Trigger Fingers turn to Twitter Fingers

Trolls are people that have nothing better to do and are bored with their own lives so they enjoy making other people feel  miserable and look disfunctional. Ever since the internet was developed trolling became really popular because they could be anonymous. There was no emotional connection face to face when confronting behind a screen so people will say whatever they want with no remorse. They try to act bold but yet remain anonymous because no one will know who they are. I have actually experienced trolling today. Something happened but it was a rather miscommunication and they took it to the heart. Something that was so small, just a fragment and they wanted to turn it into a bigger situation that really could have been avoided. It’s actually hilarious because they think they’re being so bold but in reality they look ridiculous and cowardly because they won’t confront me instead. They rather hide behind a screen and act petty. Consequently, I’m not affected from it because the situation was never that serious to begin with. So I’m shrugging it off and moving on with my day, for it is a waste of valuable time and energy. Usually I would confront the situation, however, considering the circumstances it’s not worth it. People control the way that they feel and I can only control what I can control so if that’s how they want to act and be affended by that, then by all means act like a child. That’s on them.

What I Consider Trolling

As far as I’m concerned, trolling is too vague of a term. The word covers a wide area as to what is actually considered trolling. I’ve spent a lot of time on the internet, around 8 years, and during that time I’ve seen many kinds of what would be called trolling. I think what most people are confused about when it comes to trolling, is that the people that troll are doing this to hurt people for no gain. The majority of cases I’ve seen all involve the troll using their words in a more playful manner than hurting. They do so to annoy the person, not to bring any sort of pain to them. It’s mostly just for the satisfaction of getting someone to notice them and play around with them a little bit. That’s closer to what my definition of trolling would be. Of course, there are the types of people that go around and intentionally say these hurtful comments just for the sake of bringing pain to others. Those people fall loosely under the term of the troll, but a proper term would be a flamer. These flamers are there to get an opinion across or tell someone they don’t care for their opinion. This happened to an adult actress just recently, as she posted something that her fans considered to be homophobic, leading to a storm of hateful comments. These comments ultimately led her to ending her own life. It’s the word of people that are out there to intentionally hurt us that we need to watch.

Trolling is something that no one wants to go through. In my case I wouldn't ever want to go through it or even do it. There is no point of trolling, especially anonymously. Sometimes i think about how everyone is so desensitized and no one really understands that trolling does harm people, mentally and physically. It hurts to see that people go through this and sometimes I feel powerless. The law enforcement should take these things a little bit more seriously. It seems as if the website (Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter) takes these situations into account and more seriously than law enforcement does. They take comments down, delete accounts, and spread awareness more than law enforcement. Thats scary. That's all the website does and is capable of doing. Sometimes people's lives are at risk and no precautions are taken. Its sad that the website does more than the law does. Some people argue that the law can't do much because of the first amendment, it is also illegal to send out threats that will result in death. This is when sticky situations are made because the area is so grey in the first amendment. People do have freedom of speech but where is the line drawn? I have never been trolled before but I know people who have been and it's scary. People making death threats, saying that they know where the person resides is all very scary. There has been events with trolling that led to death, people killing himself or the troller killing their victim, these are obviously not ok but as the years go by everyone seems to be getting more educated on cyberbullying and trolling.

Trolling

                    I love the internet but this trolling phase has got to stop! Everyday people use the internet as a way to connect with people and express there feelings toward one another through messaging and texting.  What scares me is that you can say just about anything and everything on social media these days and you probably wouldn't get caught doing it either.  Trolling is a pretty popular thing people do now and a lot of people do it not just a few but a lot.  Thank God I'm not a troller I keep my opinions to myself and don't connect with people who do and say obnoxious, harmful and hurtful things on the internet such as posting rude comments, telling people things that they particularly don't like about that person and those things can really hurt someones feelings sometimes   When I was younger I use to go through a phase where I always thought that telling people the whole and honest truth was a good thing but growing up I have learned that some of the things that I might have said were unnecessary and didn't need to be said just because I was angry and upset about something that had happened to me that I wanted other people to feel like too.  I feel as if the internet needs to come down I know that a lot of people use and like the internet but at some point this all needs to hit an end after what's been happening lately.

The Internet is Full of Trolls

The internet is a global connection that gets people closer and together through means of communication. It can be a powerful tool to connect and share ideas with many people, but not everyone will be a friendly in the internet. With the vast amount of people using the internet everyday, there is bound to be a troll somewhere. I commonly see them in social media applications causing trouble for people. They disregard any feelings of compassion and just say what they need to say without thinking about it. With this, they hurt a lot of people's feelings because they say something harmful. However, there is a way to avoid all this. The internet, like I said, is not full of friendly people you can interact with. There will always be a troll that will ruin someone's day. Avoiding sites where they can be commonly found is the best way to not get affected by hurtful comments of the trolls. These people have no remorse for what they say because they are protected. They are not physically in reach, but virtually they can hurt a person through toxic comments. This is what makes them invulnerable and unstoppable. They are protected by only being connected virtually and not physically. So nothing can harm them at the moment in time where they conjure harmful words. These trolls would not say all their toxic comments to someone's face because they can expect to be knocked out. Overall, the cyber community only keeps growing as people become more connected, but there is always a downside to everything that is good. My advise to every friendly web surfer in the internet is that always be ready and ignore the negative comments because the trolls are there to provoke a reaction.

Why?

I don’t understand trolls.

I can't fathom why people honestly find it okay to say and do the things they do. Especially when those things are done with the sole intent of ruining somebody else’s life. I would like to know how much of a messed up person someone has to be to have no other purpose in life but to cause others misery. Do they ever get tired of it? Do they ever feel any kind of remorse for what they’re doing? Personally I find the concept of trolling immature. It’s really mind blowing that there are people out in the world that are truly incapable of minding themselves and only themselves. What is the purpose of making someone else feel like garbage like life itself doesn’t already do that to them on its own? I know that some people literally do things like that as their job but I would also like to know why a job like that exists in the first place? It saddens me to see that people are so desperate for the gossip and humiliation of other for their own personal entertainment that they’re blinded to all the pain it’s causing. It’s not just the trolls that are the problem, but everyone in the world. As humans we just need to be better because we're extremely problematic.

What Can We Do?

Online harassment and cyberbullying have increased dramatically over the years as the internet and social media becomre more and more prevalent.When someone wants to attack someone else, they can often look them up and find something hurtful to say without putting in much effort or revealing their identity. I am not on any public social media, and I have never experienced anything like this firsthand, but I know online harassment and cyberbullying can be incredibly damaging. This is not a problem that can be easily solved because the perpetrators are anonymous, the victims tend to suffer only emotional pain, which is often more painful and more difficult to treat. Simply asking the internet to be nicer won't help, and ignoring bullies can only go so far, especially if there is personal information being released because that requires immediate attention. The only advice available is just to be careful what information is availabe publicly online and lend support to loved ones who may be victims. This problem may solve itself in the future, or maybe someone will come up with a solution, but for now, there is nothing to do but stay strong.

Online Harassment

Personally, I have never experienced online trolling.  I think this is because I am not an avid user of the internet or social media so I am not around to experience trolling.  I can however, understand why trolling and online harassment is such a widespread trend and an insidious problem.  There is something about the internet that gives people courage to say things they maybe wouldn't normally in face to face contact.  Users of the internet can reach an international level just from their computer.  This makes it so easy to be nasty to someone because it as simple as sending a tweet.  The hard thing about internet harassment is that it can be anyone who's trolling.  Anonymous users on the internet don't have an identity that the people can personally recognize them as.  This means they can say and do whatever without backlash in their everyday life.  Being anonymous online makes people brave and often time with bravery come harsh treatment and harassment.  The internet is  a double edged sword.  The online community wants the freedom to do and say what they please but with that freedom comes trolling.  Users have the freedom to say what they want but because of this trollers cant be punished by law for what they've done.  If there was a way to silence online trollers the most likely possibility is that more would show up.  Something so readily available like the internet means 100,000 plus users stream to any one site at a time.  With so many users it seems that when a battle between one troller has ended three more trollers start to harass.  It's a sad fact of life that something so awesome like the internet has to be plagued with nasty words and harassment.
-Emily Guidas

Trollin’

People who “troll” on the internet are honestly the people who feel that’s the only way they can get attention, and it’s quite sad that they seek it in that form. To me, trolls are the people who harass others online, hack other peoples profiles, and pretty much do anything or say anything behind a screen that they wouldn’t do or say in person. Personally, I have never been trolled by anyone on the internet, but I have seen people I know be harassed or made fun of online. I don’t really get what pleasure people get for hurting other people’s feelings. Although, some people aren’t at all offended by people calling them names and such. If the troll receives no attention in return, they have no reason to continue, and eventually they will get bored. It’s unfortunate that we live in a world where trolling others is so common, and it’s really sad. It may seem like an extremely strong opinion, but trolling is just basically people who are too afraid to speak up and express their feelings openly. There’s no reason to hide behind a screen hurting other’s feelings when you can say it to them or work it out another way

Trolls or Cowards

 Internet Troll: A person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on topic discussion, often for the trolls amusement. I personally think that trolls are cowards, because they sit behind a computer monitor or a screen and try to emotionally attack someone through social media. I say they are cowards because when someone trolls they are able to be mean to someone without the face to face encounter. Which allows them to hide behind a screen and act even more bold then an average person would apposed to if they were face to face with that person. I feel that social media gives certain people a confidence they would not normally have, but do not get me wrong that can be a good thing. Although when certain people take advantage of such a powerful tool like social media that is when a problem is created and trolls come about. I think that social media is a great and powerful tool, yet I think that trolls take advantage of it and use it for negative reasonings knowing that they can hide behind the comfort of their computer monitor or screen. What do you guys think about trolling? Do you think that they are cowards? Or that they are just people who choose to be mean through social media and community networking cites?

Trolls

I believe that there are different types of trolls. There are those who nitpick at any little dumb thing just for fun, then there's those who purposely torment people in hopes of sparking a reaction. Unfortunately, over the years, some trolls have managed to succeed in ruining lives, essentially leading to suicide, self-harm, or depression. The ideal way to deal with trolls would be to simply ignore them and move on. However, the real question is if I would do the same in that situation. It's easy to say one thing, but then do another.

Internet trolls are inevitable

Internet usage is has been increasingly growing. I googled "how many internet users are there daily" and google reported 3.2 billion worldwide, when you really think about that number it's crazy. Even when you are logged on to Instagram or twitter you don't realize how many others are logged on as well at that exact moment, crazy. The purpose of the internet originated as an expressive outlet that allows you to connect with others who share something with you, whether an opinion, belief, or simply as a social media outlet. Internet usage should not be banned, but trolls should! Trolls in my opinion are those who express a negative opinion or belief suggested about another, not only are heir comments cruel and inhuman but are bringing others to a state of self-harm while gathering up a communitive hate in our lives. We are all allowed an opinion and are allowed to express our beliefs. But there are those who are radicals and racist who too expresses their opinions on there beliefs and comments on others opposing thoughts and posts. So when it comes down to it there's not much of a way to stop trolling besides blocking, reporting, and ignoring.

How can you ignore trolling when they put your name in it?

Online trolling can be seen as a world wide problem that happens to a variety of different people. It is constantly and commonly seen in social media whether it is just "jokes and laughs" or much more serious stuff. These trolls hide behind a computer screen searching and waiting for a situation they can manipulate and prey on for their own amusement. Online trolling is known to be a situation that is hard to contain and social media advisors have struggle to detained and keep away from online sites. Trolls constantly pop up and disappear on online sites bringing more and more trolls along with them. This ruins the online world and puts everyone on edge about what they should say or who will comment positive or negative words under their opinion or photo. These trolls have the ability to bash, harass, and humiliate you in your social media life but also it can spread in to your everyday life which leads to scenarios dealing with suicide Some say we should avoid scenarios that have trolling related situations, but how can you ignore something that has your name in it with negative comments attached to it?

Online Trolling is taking over the internet

I believe that now the internet has been advancing, and newer technology has been formed in the past decade, people are able to remain anonymous and it takes longer for them to be tracked down.  The trolls feel like they can say whatever they want because no one knows who they are.  If they were taken off of anonymous they wouldn't be bold enough to comment those hurtful things to others.  Also if they knew that there would be a serious consequence for their action, then it wouldn't occur.  Nobody wants to get in trouble by the law.  The only reason why they pursue trolling is because they are sure that they can get away with it.  Trolling  has become a serious issue.  Even though the person trolling may not have meant for it to be that serious. It can take a huge toll on the person that is being affected by it.  I believe that internet trolling is a form of bullying. Just like bullies, people troll because they feel  insecure about their selves. They want you to feel the pain they've experienced. It makes them feel better when they can ruin someone else day because they know that they aren't the only one suffering.  Some trolls just want a reaction from you, if you entertain their foolishness they will continue to harass you. Trolls are just cowards who hide behind the screen.  They aren't bold enough to say it to your face.  I would say the best way to confront a troll is by avoiding them. Ignoring their comments will cause them to be bored and move on to their next person. If that doesn't stop get in contact with a higher authority who will take action and put a stop to the situation.

The Age of Trolls

All throughout high school I viewed trolls as funny memes. My friends and I have trolled each other countless times because we know that when we get mad, its only for the time-being and we will get over it. But the trolls I witnessed from the past week from being exposed to it during class is beyond disbelief. I knew about the cyber bullying that was going on on the internet but not to the extent that it was happening. One example is the Lewinsky situation. She didn't deserved to the extent of what happened to her. Her not being able to go for a walk in the park with out being harassed by the media constantly. No one should feel like the only way to make everything to stop is to take your own life. If your being trolled just don't respond. Trolls are what they are because people give them enough attention to respond, so it fuels them to continue doing what they do. Ignore it or report the account that is trolling you, is the best advice I can give you.

Dealing With Online Trolls

Dealing with online trolls is something that I feel cannot be prevented.  However as technology progresses, I think that we will eventually be able to prevent the chaos that online trolls have caused.  Online trolls are people that hide behind a computer screen, and gain satisfaction from hurting people; however, the only reason they are able to do this is because they cannot physically see the pain that they have brought to their victims.  The cause of online trolling ultimately began with the rise of social media.  Social media can be a good thing, but over the years people have abused it.  At first, social media was meant to bring people together, but now it just seems to be causing so many problems.  Another thing that people have abused over time is their right to freedom of speech and expression.  This ties in with online trolling because people feel that they can say whatever they want online without facing any consequences.  Ultimately, I think that it's just best to ignore or block online trolls because if you let it show that they have hurt you, it gives them the satisfaction to keep trolling.

Trolling

I have never had a personal experience with trolls, however I know people who have had to deal with them frequently and it really does take a toll on your mental state. To have people consistently badger you with hateful words and phrases constantly would affect anyone. There was a girl who got bullied so horribly online she decided to drink bleach. Cyberbullying does happen daily and it’s terrible that there is a limitation on what can be done. However, I believe removing yourself from social media for a bit is the best option if you are actually being affected by online trolling. The biggest issue people have when they are receiving hate online is that they keep reading the hate and won’t stop reading it. They just want to see what everyone is saying and it becomes addicting. Until it comes to the super-creepy-serial-killer esque type messages then people should remove themselves from social media. The more serious comments should be reported. I wish the police would take these more seriously as they can track the ip address and arrest the person for harassment, but they don’t seem too willing to do that, and since the trolls see that there are no legal repercussions, they are going to keep doing it until something happens. Comments and posts can affect a person’s mental health severely. It can drop self esteem, cause depression and social anxiety by leaving the person to be hyper aware of how they present themselves and thinking the worst about themselves.

Online Harassment

I personally have never been trolled so I really have no idea what really happens. I have seen all the stuff on Twitter where people are posting the screenshots of what other people are telling them. It’s rough. Seeing everything that people say to anyone is disgusting! What women say to women. What men say to women and vice versa. It is so horrible. Because of the first amendment, no one will get in trouble for saying things like “Wow! You’re so fat. You should just kill yourself.” I think one of the worst things about this is that this could literally be anyone. They don’t even have to know you. Anyone is given the chance to take a try at your confidence and even if you block and report them, all they have to do is make a new account and come at you again. It's so hard to just avoid everything altogether. You’d have to completely withdraw from social media to stop the harassment. This way would keep you from receiving the comments full force. But this won’t solve everything, only stop for a while until you decide to come back.

The Effect of Trolling

      Trolls online take a wide scope of classifications.  Some people see them as pranksters and others see them as online harassers. Trolls use their anonymity to their advantage by expressing themselves online and sometimes use it for evil reasons. For instance, some use the internet to send dangerous threats online.  Because they are doing it online and they may be anonymous, they assume the meaning of the message is watered down. However, to the person that receives the hateful message, the attack can be harmful.  Some receivers take extreme measures and others simply shrug off the harmful words and delete the application from which the hate comes through. Although deleting messages or the app stops the influx of hate, does this really work?  If you delete hate messages from trolls, how would you deal with the hate other people inflict on you outside of the app such as at school or in other public places?

AF: Room for Debate - the War Against Online Trolls

Here's the link to the articles, but you can find them easily by just typing "the War Against Online Trolls" into the Google Search box.

AF: Yo! It's the vocab for this unit

My Experience with Trolls

     Throughout my years as a high school student, especially one with a troubled past trolling or cyber bullying is something I am too familiar with. When I was a freshman I wasn't exactly the same person as you see today. I would like to not go into deep details as I want to keep my past hidden. Anyway, due to these events a good amount of people didn't like me.  At the time, I only had Instagram as my only source of social media but I didn't realize how bad the online insults were. They spanned several platforms such as Twitter, Snapchat, and especially Ogle so a large number of people from school could see everything. I would see a bunch of messages of others calling me a "b****" or coward. Some people even made rude questions about my masculinity. Honestly, being a freshman and seeing that stuff being posted online literally destroyed almost everything I had like my reputation, friendships, and my ability to talk to other people. Every day I would try to find excuses to tell my parents to call me sick just to avoid school. When I would go to school I would be really paranoid, because it could be anyone who could be talking trash about me. It was a really difficult time. However, during sophomore year I got fed up with all the ridicule and I tried to fix my mistakes that led up to the harassment. Instead of focusing on social media I just did my own thing for a long time and tried to remain anonymous as possible. The number of changes I went through my Sophomore year and Junior year was massive. Although, I couldn't change my faults I worked on keeping them in check so they wouldn't hurt me or anyone else again.  During my Junior year I "reappeared" as a more confident and carefree person. Thus, I was able to regain the friends I lost as well as partially fix my reputation. Although there are people who still believe that I am the same person since freshman year and to be frank, I don't care. What I learned from my experience is that if you are being trolled just don't give a damn. They are all people who have nothing better to do so they just try to make others miserable. Meanwhile, I have progressed in my life and I didn't let any of them break me. A famous quote once said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Besides, the fact that they have to hide themselves to insult someone already proves that they are below you.

Trolls are running the internet

When we first started talking about trolls it made me think of the memes that are all over the internet. My friends and I think of trolls as of  messing with one another and  pissing each other off. I will admit that I have trolled before on the internet, but I choose to do it to the people I know and they won't take offense to it. I also have not made any fake accounts to troll any of my friends or anyone. Me hearing the story about Zelda Williams is just cruel and disgusting because the trolls just think everything is a joke, but its really not because ruining someones life isn't funny at all. Life shouldn't be taking as a joke, I guess its just one of those things that many of us take for granite. Those trollers might of thought it was funny, but was it all worth it for them to take a human life? Trollers like these should be punished without a doubt due to them hurting someones feelings bad enough that the person killed themselves.I believe that trollers main intention is to get you mad and to get your attention.Once they get your attention and you respond to one of their post then they will have full control of you just ignore it. The main way to bypass them is to ignore everything they say because once they see that you don't care then it ruins their fun to them and they will most likely stop. Trying to remove all the trollers accounts will take forever to remove, but by ignoring them and showing them no attention I believe will stop them.

( twitter: szn_tony - insta: tonyy.szn)

My Understanding of Trolls

I was never really aware of what "trolls" were until now. I also didn't know that, that's what those who are harming others through a computer screen were called. When I think of the word troll I think of the little ugly dolls. Now that I have a full understanding of what these types of trolls are it makes me sad that people actually have the audacity to say cruel and unnecessary words without saying it in person. In my opinion, I feel like we will never be able to get rid of these types of people even if we report them and their accounts are removed indefinitely. Reason being, is that the internet is just getting started and there are millions and millions of people who have accounts on different websites where they are able to write, comment, and post whatever they'd like, there are so many accounts that it seems to be a difficult task to remove those that are being harmful towards others. Sure, there are many ideas and ways that are happening right now to remove these accounts but how long would it last and won't people find other ways to still be a jerk through a screen? I have social media accounts and honestly I've never seen any type of "trolling" or maybe I do but don't think of those people as "trolls" but another label. 

Dealing With Trolls

We all know trolls are easily found in almost all parts of the internet whether it's social media, sites where you watch videos, blogs, or forums.They usually tend to attack others based on personal beliefs, ideas, or other attributes in order to make their targets feel bad about themselves and, at times, receive some sort of satisfaction from it. From my perspective, avoiding confrontation with a troll or trolls is probably one of the most effective ways to deal with the issue, rather than waiting for websites and social media apps to delete hateful comments or add a blocking feature. As I mentioned above, trolls are everywhere on the internet and are not easily contained even by the moderation of different message boards. By avoiding them and the attacks you see them make, they don't get the satisfaction they would get from you responding to their words and you would be proving that those words meaning nothing to you at all. This way, you would still be able to use the internet for whichever purpose you have without bothering to waste time reading the hateful things trolls have to say and you know aren't true. Though, when it comes to spam of images it may be trickier to avoid trolls, so it might be up to you to re figure out a way to block or report the person to have them stop. Otherwise, I don't know what else could be done in the situation that you're spammed with messages, so my question is how do you deal with trolls and the spam they send?

AF: Hey kids! Read my blog post

Hi Kids:

I was just bipping around on the internet, looking at books I might buy for the class library, when I came across the following snippet on a publisher's website:

Elsewhere in the free speech files, women are reporting that Facebook has been censoring their responses to the blizzard of sexual misconduct allegations, deleting comments that contain sentiments such as “Men are scum.” Under the social media giant’s standards governing “hate speech,” white men are considered a protected group, which can inordinately penalize users who speak out about important  issues related to inequality. One woman who was suspended for writing “men continue to be the worst” points out the double-standard in Facebook’s implementation of the policy: “There was one guy who was threatening to find my house and beat me up… I got banned before I could even successfully report it.”

The double-standard is real.

What ARE Facebook and Twitter's standards governing "hate speech"?  Wouldn't you like to know?